PRESS1 day ago

Immigration ’08

Eight years ago, Herta Llusho came with her family to the US from Albania– when she was just eleven years old. Herta’s family came for the reason most immigrants do: in pursuit of the American dream. Today that dream has become a nightmare. Herta is due to present herself to be deported tomorrow. You can make a difference – take action.

Right now, much of the nation’s attention is on health insurance reform and the accompanying side-show generated by vitriolic opponents of the President’s proposal. As immigrant advocates, we’re all too familiar with those angry, ugly attacks. We’ll no doubt see some of those characters, led by Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck, during the upcoming immigration reform debate. But we’re going to be ready. Across the country, the forces supporting immigration reform have been mobilizing and adding new allies.

By Guest Blogger Mario Quiroz, from CASA de Maryland: “Delay may be business as usual in Washington, but Baltimore isn’t having it. Yesterday evening, amidst news that President Obama now sees immigration reform delayed until 2010, the Baltimore City Council passed a resolution– the first like it in Maryland– calling on President Obama and Congress to act swiftly to pass real, comprehensive immigration reform.”

Yesterday’s New York Times blasts the Obama administration for being too slow to implement real, comprehensive immigration reform, and too quick to extend Bush-era immigration policies that have led to widespread abuse. It mentions local protests bubbling up across the country that are part of a nation-wide call to halt these violations and pass real immigration reform. MSNBC and NDN discuss Obama, the GOP, and the Latino Vote.

Yesterday, DC-based think tank NDN hosted “Politics and Policy: What to Expect from the Immigration Debate,” a panel discussion between NDN president Simon Rosenberg, ImmigrationWorks president Tamar Jacoby, and executive director of the National Immigration Forum, Ali Noorani.

A series of events over the past several days and weeks show that the Republican Party still has not learned the lessons of the 2006 and 2008 elections. As Senator Tom Coburn might say — they have some “splaining to do.” In a remarkable and mostly unconscious display of white identity politics, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee spouted condescending questions at the president’s distinguished nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor. Failing to trip her up, all but one of the Republicans on the committee voted against her nomination.

Over the weekend, Senator Jon Kyl stated: “To try to do immigration reform this year would be an impossibility.” He listed all the items on Congress’ “already crammed” agenda to prove his point. But one item he mentioned on that agenda is the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor as Supreme Court Justice. In all probability, we’ll be calling Sonia “Justice Sotomayor” before our good Senators settle in for August recess.

The report makes several recommendations, including limiting the use of home raids to a last resort for targets who pose a serious risk to national security or have violent criminal records; the use of judicial rather than administrative warrants, and the videotaping of all home raids. It also calls for the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General to conduct an investigation.

In another sign that momentum is building towards comprehensive immigration reform, President Obama, in remarks last Friday before Spanish language media outlets reasserted his commitment to immigration reform, saying it is

Something we want to move forward on…we’re going to have to keep the pressure for this to happen.

Colbert may have tickled our funny bones last night, but Rachel Maddow set the record straight– watch it. Huffington post blogger Nicholas Graham reports in ‘Maddow Demolishes Buchanan’s Surreal Facts About America’s Racial Past (VIDEO):’ “While Maddow said it would not be fair to re-litigate issues without the guest with whom they were discussed, and that it’s “not cool” to talk about guests after their segment is over, she did feel the need to correct several things Buchanan stated as fact that simply were not true. ”